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About Harrison press-journal. (Harrison, Nebraska) 1899-1905 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1899)
TQ ALhEXMI FARMER JgtS RELATION TO THE ECONO MIC CONDITIONS. Addrass of Ganerai Charles H.How ard at Buffalo. N. Y., Before Nat ional Social Conference. Address of General Charles H. huw ssjl at Buffalo, N. Y-, June 29, before the National Social and Political Con- ce, published In Farm, Field and Fireside, Chicago: Oa behalf of some 7,600,000 (according la V. 8. census 7,670,438), of our coun- en who are directly engaged in various branches of agriculture, 1 to thank the program committee ! this conference and acknowledge the esy of this body, for the repre- ktion provided for on this platform. Oaantlnr the families, these 7.000,000 era stand for a population of over ,000; or about one-third the en- population of the United States. large class of citizens might, of In a way be represented by law- clergymen and the members of 1 professions and occupations; they twee often been so represented In the Carted States congress, and even in the BoeXical conventions which nominate amen and presidents. Bat there been a growing feeling among the for a decade or two, that the M saying "he that would be well serv ed aiast serve himself," applies to their BSiltlcal affairs. A conviction has be assae prevalent among them that they have vital Interests that no other class at ettiaens can appreciate as well aa that other classes such aa afacturers, merchants and bankers ' Indeed represent Interests more or In conflict with those of the icr. Oa the other hand, I am not here to plead for any public policy which shall favor agriculture to the Injury of any (her business. The farmers of our ntry have come In for some pretty names of late. At some of these, Bach aa"hayseeds," "horny-handed sons af toll," etc., they can afford to smile gaod-naturedly; at others, like "the asaa with the muck-rake," or "the man with the hoe," they are thoughtful. Dees the occupation of agriculture nec essarily tend to degrade? AGRICULTURE A NOBLE OCCUPA PATION. Classic literature, both Latin and SagHslv, affords an answer: "Beatua Ule qui procui negotiis Tit prtoca gens mortaiium Paterna rura bonus exercet suis." Horace. Ta ancient times the sacred plough em ployed The kings and awful fathers of man kind, Awd some, with whom your insect tribes are but the beings of a summer's day Have held the scale of empire, ruled the storm of mighty war, then with unwearied hand Bis gaining little delicacies, seized the plow and greatly independent lived." Thompson's Seasons. American history on every page gives ABke answer. George Washington was BBSS Lincoln, James A. Garfield and assay ethers, distinguished in peace and war, were at some time in their lives tamers like Antaeus took an lrre- Ibie start upward from a touch of soil. MAN WITH THE HOE. yet some of our farmers winced Inwardly when, lately, they looked upon picture. "The Man with the I ee." Tea could read In their faces: is not my likeness." "It Is not a re at ray boy." "Is It to be a por trait of my son's soar' "A thing" that grieves not and that never hopes, BtoUd aad stunned, a brother to the oa." If not our occupation, do its condl ttssss mean this for those who come after us? Must the descendant of the an Hi an farmer revert to the Euro- peasant type? with the weight of centuries. he leans Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground. emptiness of ages In his lace. on his back the burden of the world. is no shape more terrible than this tongued with censure of thr world's Mind greed." ; CUBAN SLAVES.. Tae speaker spent a brief period is fa Tea on a sugar plantation in Cuba. It was before the emancipation of the sis us Tae field bands rose at 1 o'clock la the soornlng. A piece of cold corn stood far breakfast, eaten aa tsey i hurried to their task. At II o'clock were served from a great Kettle one principal meal of hominy or Hen aad women were herded and Hka animals under the lasn oi taw brutal overseer. The sad and hope leaa expression on the faces of some af these stoves-especially of the wo asaa hat never In all these years been tOaesd from my memory. This was 1 jaassh slavery, and that on the sugar, ass aad oettoa plantations la oar own i like It But tnoae negroes 1 1 saw In Cuba ware emancipated tea aad their sons maoe up aad file with Gomes -7!i"l- tkelr eassaresl wiu oe neiier uh ate. Thar an looking up. tSSWBCUUTBIQ FARM INCOMES lainum seas too often Had that I farm la depreciating every year; 4 MMirt m all; the SOBS tit cannot be sent away to ium mm mmm the nracticc awty-foar years ago warn the speaker JLX Msna aa in new mb fwkaf tavr yaara eoures of study. The t-Vft aaw alaat the girts, also, seek env f Tnnnrt ta the cities. What is their I T tsareT Take WykofTs pen picture af wan he saw la a maaufactory of 'Tr'r -... CiT aad identity. He became a zrw. iwf nw " Jr. s ftcra r-W in the awralag; reieas- I m . mtm MMHa: BO 0000 Of DTO- Jmmr TaiawaTwasaa; X naarrtod, J eTt-r T of oadtwa, the tempta- m y t aj . aaaka rirtoal -I? 1 sejprta aad. If not, the w et si'u taesa asaa up street far twtr ami- ,,-J i'7rMm tkeja-aad t'-st rrixum. nit r t53rt U B) t- It if if iir Hi H if ri I M a K-i. are looking down. Their faces are to ward the ground. "But those that do stay on the old farm, surely they are better off?" Let us examine more carefully into their condition: 25C GROSS INCOME PER DAT. Taking Census Bulletin 378 and the figures of the official statistician of the department of agriculture, we find the value of farm products for the average farm in the United States was $538.94. Allowing 5.74 persons to each farm, as reported by the census, and divide the $S38.94 among them equally, we find that our agricultural population re ceives an average annual per capita In come of $93.89. Divide this amount by the number of days in the year (365), and we have for those who depend on the farm for a living an average per capita income of 25.8 cents per day. 10C PER DAT NET INCOME. It must be borne in mind that this $638.94 per farm, or 25.8 cents per day per capita, is not the profit made from the average farm or day's labor, but constitutes the value of the entire crops. It Includes that portion con sumed on the farm as well as that por tion sold. Out of this amount the farmer must pay his taxes. Insurance, interest, the cost of seed, hired help, wear and tear of farm implements, re pairing of fences and buildings, and feed for his team for one year while cultivating the crops. All these items must be paid out of the $538.94 before the farmer can have anything for him self and family. The question then Is. how much will the average farmer and his family have for their own support after paying all these items? Will they have 15 cents per day per capita? No Will then have ten? Possibly, yes; but I doubt It. For argument's sake, how ever, we will admit that our agricultur al population receives a per capita in come of 10 cents per day, with which to buy food and clothing, educate the children and pay incidental expenses. COMPARE FARMER AND PAUPER. Now, to bring out the meaning of these figures in bold relief the moral force, if you pleace, of this condition of things take two facts and compare them: 1 Cost of keeping a pauper at public expense in Illinois. 28.5 cents per day. 2 Price paid to the state of Illinois for the labor of a convict, 39.4 cents per day. Please set down in your memory again and let it burn In a little, if you will: The average daily Income of every one dependent on the farm for a living is 10 cents. The agricultural population of the United States is compelled, under pres ent conditions, to live on an Income be low that provided for paupers; and re ceive less for their labor than is paid for convicts. IS THERE NO RELIEF? Is there no moral significance in these figures? Do they not appeal to a sense of duty, of equity on the part of those who hear me?' If there be any condi tion of finance or currency or of eco nomic laws which can be reached by us, as citizens, through our congress, and which has produced such a result, can we shirk our plain duty to remedy this condition? It does not make it an better that such facts pertain to othel industries. For my part, I cannot Ig nore these facts and figures. They: mean not starvation alone, they mean the wrecking homes, the breaking up of families, the crushing out of the bright hopes of youth, the shattering of faith. They mean the poorhouse to the Kick and aged. They mean tears and untold sorrow. They mean the breaking of hearts. They mean de spondency, despair and suicide. They mean crime. MILLET AND MARKHAM. Alas! With such conditions Millet's picture or Markham's poem will not have to wait for ages or centuries to find its counterpart in our country. If we do not yet, in vision even, see "Time's tragedy," "In that aching stoop," we already find traces of fam ished minds, suffering hearts, desperate resolves, bitterness and hatred. But this Is not Christian, some one may say. "These are the necessities of life and they should be meekly borne and develop patience." Here we take issue. It Is not an in evitable and cruel necessity that pau perises the American farmer and de grades his children and enkindles in his heart too often the spirit of retaliation and revenga. WRONG ECONOMIC CONDITIONS. The economic or financial system of our country Is somehow wrong when 91 per cent of the families own 29 per cent of the wealth and per cent of the fam ilies own about 71 per cent of the wealth. According to a carefully obtained list published In the New York Tribune, of those who own the 71 per cent of wealth, there are 4,047 known million aires. These average at least $3,000,000 each. Another statistician of high reputa tion for accuracy. Charles B. Bpohr, sums up the distribution of wealth dls tribtlon aa follows: "Less than half the families in America are property less; nevertheless, seven-eighths of the fam ilies hold but one-eighth of the national wealth, while one per cent of the fami lies hold more than the remaining $7 per cent." HOW THE OTHER HALF (?) LIVES. According to an estimate of Mr. Ed ward Atkinson 14,100,000 of the $li.000,- 000 families In our country are sup ported on Incomes of lesa than $400 a year, $70e,0U0 on less tnan .wu, ana we remainder on larger Incomes. But the average annualtaconTefhartehMit by good authority (Thomas O. Shear man in the forum), at $1,600,000. Put this again by the side of four-fifths of American families whose earnings av erage leas than $500 per annum. CAUSES. I dqi-domIv refrain from a discussion of the causes which have produced the deplorable results. They are attributed by soma to me aeveiopmeni ox monop olies, combines aad trusts by which the wealthy, under favoring legisla tion, has ereatir added to the riches and of necessity the poor have become poorer. What baa Been saw ia inw conference of monopolies, abuses .of transportation and of the currency ap ply aa much to the former aa to any other class. Bone bar attributed this enormous Inequality to me eaecu oi contraction la the currency or the quantity of standard money, so en- hnjmif; ie purcnannw ww ey and giving to those who had cap ital great advantage over those who had not This la styled monopoly of money. Others attribute both the trusts and iha riches acquired by them to the ef fect af the policy and laws of the pro tective tariff. And aa wheat aad cotton and. such farm prodacts aa depend on a fore5a snarket have no protectloa, the tarUle pronoaaesd very unjust ta the farmer. Ke to taaad la so far as he svparta Ma iwadaita, by the tajrasaed priaa oa the lartaewd goods watch a mt i shi- y c warJ"! ftlaa. Ta t tj 1 1 my h The Imn'ii":: .set Is that for many years there has been an almost unvary ing fall in prices of farm products, In cluding live stock. This is destructive to the property values of the agricul turist and is more the source of disap pointment and distress than would be the mere fact of low prices, If stable. THE BETTER TIMES.' But times are better, says my repub lican friend: Tes, the price of bread stuffs advanced greatly from the in creased demand, growing out of the loss of crops in several foreign conlrles In 1897. Even In 1898 prices kept up and as late as till Jne, 1899, the export of wheat and cotton had continued to be about as great in quantity as the previous year. But just here we are met with an appalling fact. The re ceipts on wheat and some of the other cereals and on cotton have, owing to reduced prices, this year (the year end ing June 1, 1899), fallen off $50,000,000, as compared with the year before. That $50,000,000 is now to be subtracted from the Income of the agriculturist of our country about $2 for each man, wo man and child of the farmer's family. This means another pinch; and this not. withstanding that we are still feeling the effects of the short crops abroad. We must surely count on another drop If there Is a return to normal crops in all countries. With the average Income down to 10 cents a day less than that of the pris oner or the pauper of Illinois and then subtract $7.14 more from each head of family ot three members for the year with almost an absolute certainty of another drop next year and the general conditions such as to force the convic tion that all prices and values, except money, will continue steadily to fall, what are we to expect In moral effects except what is most deplorable? FALLING PRICES THE GREAT EVIL Until some remedy is suggested for the evil of falling prices and until the rich cease to become richer and the poor poorer, how are we to bring any good cheer to the farmer? Look again at our sore-hearted, discouraged, des perate son of toll. May we not quote the Inspired words of the poet? The prophecy as well as protest? How will you ever straighten up this shape; Touch It again with immortality; Give back the upward looking and the light; Rebuild in it the music and the dream; Make right the immemorial Infamies; Perfidious wrongs. Irremediable woes? O masters, lords and rulers in all lands. How will the Future reckon with this Man? How answer his brute questions in that hour When whirlwinds of rebellion shake the world? How will It be with kingdoms and with kings With those who shaped him to the thing he is When this dumb Terror shall reply to God, After the silence of the centuries? This Is the pathetic side. It is true; but there is a brighter side. Wykoff found no haniner soot in all his travels on the Minnesota farm. The family and the neighborhood life were Idyllic. And it would be qually true In New York, Ohio or any other state. But these hard statistics are averages and tell of a terrible depression and a wrong to be righted. FARMERS NEVER ANARCHISTS. On the other hand, it would be almost impossible to make anarchists out of American farmers. They love their country. In the civil war and In the last war the best recruiting grounds were In the great agricultural states. In peace they are Industrious; in war they are patriotic. They are the great conservative and preservative element In social life In politics. They will stand by the free public school the uo corrupted ballot box and will not eas ily adopt rash or revolutionary meaa ures. . It am not a "calamity howler, and am not here to represent such a class. The late war has come In to Increase marekts and Innumerable activities which brought relief to all industries, including agriculture. The Klondike and the general increase in the produc tion of gold Is another unexpected source of relief both in the employ ment of men and In the vastly increased output of gold meeting the argument of those who have asked for an in crease In the per capita quantity of money. Even the final necessity of renewing the worn out farm Implements, the wagons, the windmills, the engines the numerous appliances of the modern farm, In states where wheat was a pro duct, has contributed to the prosperity of the manufacturer and the merchant and reacted upon the whole community. These are the facts of the hour tor which we should be grateful. But be cause the 23,000,000 to 25.000.0H of our people who are getting their living by agriculture are good and reliable citi zensAmerican and patriotic to the very marrow, are we to forget their rights and allow a system to grow upon them which must Inevitably crush out their manhood? Or because there is a streak of daylight from the unex pected sources of divine providence the war and the Klondike and the fail ure of foreign crops and the farmers are permitted for one year to draw a breath of relief, shall we sit down to indifference or conclude that they are well enough oft with such appalling facts and figures staring us in the face from the United States Census? What I ask of this conference, and - - mmm mt tmm ci Is of the United States and of congress, Is to readjust our economic and financial system so that the farmer shall be called to bear only his equitable share of the bifrdent of the citizen. BRIEF NOTB8. Rudyard Kipling Intends to visit Aus tralia and wtll probably stay for a short time In South Africa, en route. For the forty-eight hours ending on Monday evening there were three new cases of fever and one death at New Orleans. John Lawyer, jr.. aad Bd Jones of Charleston, III., got Into a quarrel and Jones waa slashed In the neck with a pocket knife and died In less than Ave minutes. The new torpedo boat Craven waa successfully launched. An attempt was made a week ago to run the vessel Into the water, but she became wedged on the ways. At Toronto, O., all membera of the tailors' union, between 401 and HO, struck because the employers refused to grant their request for a II per cant advance la wagea. Frank 3. Pishoon, accused of having embeaaled state funds while employed aa boowhaeper m the hospital at Oak koaa. Wk, waa arrested at Atahlaon, Kan., an a requisition from Wlaoonsln. Tom Topham, a saloon keeper, la la aH ewarged with murder, and Charles U Weastar. a cigar maafactarer at Of aea. Utah, la dead at km riatiieiM aa a reeaK of a A STEP III lf.lFERIALISf.1 PUBLIC INTELLIGENCE HELD BY THE THROAT. The Truth About the Censorship of General Otla Told by the Agent of the Associated Press. The following letter from Robert M. Collins, correspondent of the Associated Press at Manila, to Melville E. Stone, general manager of the Associated Press, was written in response to a re quest for a full statement of the facts In regard to the censorship of General Otis. It appeared in the New York Journal and other papers last week. The following Is the full text of the letter. Melville E. Stone. General Manager the Associated Press, Chicago, 111.: My Dear Mr. Stone Your request for a detailed record of all circumstance leading- to the statement cabled by all the correspondents In Manila to their newspapers, Is just received. In the be ginning It should be explained that cor respondents had the question of taking some united action to secure the right to send the facts about the war, or. failing In that, to explain to our papen and the public why we were not telling the facts, two months before the cable gram was released. The censorship enforced during the war and before the beginning of It, wap according to newspaper men who had worked in Japan, Turkey. Greece, Rus sla and Egypt in war times, and ir Cuba under the Weyler regime, and during our war so much more stringen' than any hitherto attempted that we were astonished that the American au thorities should countenance It. aw were confident public opinion should bt overwhelmingly against it, if Its metli ods and purposes became known. SUBMITTED AFTER MANY AP PEALS. For a long time we submitted to the censorship because of appeals to oui patriotism and a feeling that we mlf?!v be accused of a lack thereof If we madi any trouble for the American authorl ties here. But when General Otis came down l:i the frank admission that It was not In tended so much to prevent the newspa pers from giving information and as sistance to the enemy (the legitimate (unction and, according to our view, the only legitimate one, cf a censorship), but to keep the knowledge of condi tions here from the public at home, and when the censor had repeatedly told us in ruling out plain statements of un disputed facts, "My instructions are to let nothing go thai can hurt the ad ministration," we concluded that pro test was justifiable. Otis had gained the idea from the long submission by the newspaper men to his dictation that It waa a part oi the duty of the governor-general to dl rect the newspaper correspondent as he did his officers. Much of the censorship was conducted by him personally, the tensor sending a correspondent to the general with any diispatch.es about which he had doubts. The process of passing a message was identical with the correction of a composition .by a schoolmaster, Otis or the censor strik ing out what displeased them and in serting what they thought should be dald, or, what came to the same thing, telling the correspondent he must say certain things If bis story was to go. PRESS MADE OTIS' PERSONAL OR GAN. In this way the entire American press was made the personal organ of Otis; we were compelled to send noth ing but the official version of all events and conditions, even when the official view controverted the opinions of the great mass of the officers In the field and intelligent residents, and was a falsification of events which passed be fore our eyea In this way every fight became a glo rious American victory, even though every one in the army knew It to- have been substantially a failure, and we were drilled into writing, quite mechan ically, wholly ridiculous estimates of the number of Filipinos killed. Repeated appeals made by all the correspondents to their papers to se cure change in censorship methods bad been fruitless, and as conditions stead ily grew worse and failure was piled upon failure, while we were sending rose-colored pictures of successful war and Inhabitants flocking to the Amer ican standard, the repeated suggestions of correspondents that "We must do something" resulted in a formal meet ing. THE WORK MADE A FARCE. All agreed that their work was being made a farce, the papers were wasting money In keeping them here, that Otis mls-ht aa well detail some of his clerks to do the work. Each had his own idea of what should be done. I propos ed they protest to the president against the censorship, with the request that all matter should be passed except military movements which would as sist the enemy, and thought It had better be signed by the names of the organizations and papers represented than by our names, because their dis play might be construed Into a desire for personal advertisement. The others thought we should send a statement of the conditions, with an explanation to the public why our efforts bad been so misleading. On comparing notes we found that we had among us learned the views of all the American generals and most of the other prominent men In Manila whose opinions were worth considering, and that there was a practical unanim ity of opinions of the situation. The dispatch prepared was an epitome of these opinions. The pressure upon us to "tell the truth" from army officers of Man rank and men of all classes had been something tremendous, and we have been accused of cowardice and ail sorts of things- Before taking any steps we concluded to talk with Otis, and he made vague promises of greater liberality. ANOTHER MONTH OF TORTURE. Then followed a month of history re peating Itself. Before the movement on Antlpolo, Taypay, and Morong, we were told that It must Inevitably result In the capture and destruction of Filer's army of two or three thousand men; then the same predictions were mads of the movement to the south In Cavlte province; next the collapse wss about to come through the surrender of Gen eral Tries, who would bring over his army. About the middle of June I wrote a conservative review to the effect that every one here waa convinced that It would be Impossible to end the war during the rainy season and for some time thereafter, unless heavy reinforce, menta were sent The censor's comment 0 made a note of It) waa: "Of course, we all know that we are In a terrible mess out here, bat we don't want the people to get excited about rt If you fallows wilt only keen aaiet mam ws will suit thro He took the review to General Otis, who ssld: "Tell Collins that If he will bold that for a week or ten days he wtll thank me for not letting him send It." OTIS REPEATED SAME 8TORY. When I went to see him he repeated the same old story about the insurrec tion going to pieces, and hinted so por tentlously about having wonderful things up his sleeve that I almost be lieved him. The other men had prac tically the same experience. So, after wlatlng a month for the gen eral's pretentions to materialize, we decided to send the statement we had framed without changing It, as the conditions bad not changed. The views were the views of Law ton, Mac Arthur, Funston, Wheaton, et al., and we could not be accused of prejudice against the administration. The attempt to hold the newspapers by the throat was so unusual that unusual action seemed to be justified and de manded. As a matter of form we took the message to the censor. His com ment was practically the same that he had made on my message. He did not question the accuracy of the statement of conditions, but said: "This Is just intended to suppress." He. of course, took It to Otis, who, In turn, sent the messenger requesting to see Davis, of the New York Bun, to go and see him, doubtless thinking that as he had treated the Sun as his or gan, and Its correspondents being un der obligations to him for special fa vors, he could work them to give up the plan. Thompson said he thought Col lins and McCutcheon should go also. A committee was chosen Davis, Mc Cutcheon, Bass and I. When we were ushered Into Otis' room he said with some anger: "Gentlemen, you have served an ex traordinary paper upon me. You accuse me of falsehood. That constitutes a conspiracy against the government 1 will have you tried by a general court martial and let you choose the judges." We knew from experience with his threats to "put you off the island" that there was nothing to be frightened about, and also knew that all officers who would be on a court-martial would know we told the truth. Three hours of exceedingly plain talk followed. The general did not contradict our statements that the purpose of the cen sorship waa to keep the facts from the public, but said that what we wanted was to have the people stirred up and make sensations for the papers. We told him that there had never been any sut. ject furnishing more good material for sensations than this war, and that he should be exceedingly grateful to the papers for handling It so temperately. Dealing with the specifications, we said that the hospital officers refused to give us any information as to the number of sick, on the ground that he had Instructed them to withhold such facts; also that he had reported to Washington a percentage of 7V4 sick, when the srgeons agreed that at least 20 per cent of the command was sick; that not more than 10 per cent of some regi ments were fit for duty, and that the hospital force and room was entirely inadequate, so that they were compelled to discharge hundreds of men who were really sick. His reply was that the hospitals were full of perfectly well men, who were shirking, and should be turned out To send home figures of the numbers In hospitals would be entirely misleading. We reminded him that while he had been reporting to Washington that "the volunteers will render willing service until relieved," the same volunteers were sending regimental petitions to the governors of their states to use every Influence to secure their recall. In the matter of prejudice against the navy, It was stated on the parts of the correspondents that all were cem pelled to change their accounts of the taking of Hollo, to make It appear that the army had done the work with Im mediate assistance of warships, and that only a few houses were burned. The unquestioned facts told In the original stories were that the soldiers did not land until three hours after the marines had raised the flag and chased the insurgents out. General Otis explained that the navy was so anxious for glory that It dis obeyed instructions by landing before the proper time, although the corre spondents could not have been per mitted to send that explanation had they known It, and were forced to give in a false account of what occurred. The fact is questioned by no one that almost all of the business quarter and much of the other sections were burned. 1 reminded him that two stories by Dunning, of the Associated Press, de scribing the work of the navy In pa trolling the coasts and taking prizes were "killed" without reason, and the others agreed that the entire attitude of the censorship toward the navy had been one of prejudice and discrimina tion. Otis Is a very hard man to argue with or to pin down to any definite proposi tion, and bis explanation of the failure of Hall's expedition the first week In June was characteristic. He said: "But how could we capture them when they were not there? They all got out the night before we started, and there were not two thousand we found, but only six hundred." We rehearsed In detail the objections to the censorship, which I have out lined in the beginning of this letter. Davis said: "When I returned to Ma nila I asked what I would be permitted to send, and you told me all facts, news about military operations not helpful to the enemy and my opinions as opinions." All of the committee agreed that the fulfillment of that rule would be sat isfactory, and I disclaimed any desire to send my personal opinions for the Associated Press. General Bates was present through out the Interview. At the cloe Oen eral Otis turned to him and ssked: "What would you do with these gen tlemen. General?" Bates promptly replied: "I would do what I said." "Court-martial them?" asked Otis. "No, let them send what you prom isedthe facts and opinions as opin ions," Bates said. The next morning Otis sent for Davis and tried to talk him over. Among other things, he complained that he did not clearly understand what we wanted. Wishing to give blm a chance to estab lish a reasonable censorship, we sent another committee with a written re quest that we be allowed to send al) fscts not useful to the enemy and de scribe the different views of the situa tion when It waa open to difference of opinion. The committee threshed over the same ground several hours, and the result was a etstement In effect that we might send anything which in his opinion wss "not prejudicial to the In. terests of the United Statea" That did not change our opinion In the least, because he had always con strued aa damaging to the government any story tending to carry the smallest Inference that bis acts and policies were not entirely successful and Indors ed by the whole army. He : pointed a new censor, although we told hi ht would not be the slightest re lief unless the system waa changed, and ha prom toed ta keep ina censor iuuy posted aa all eventsan arrangement which ke ha ot aarrtod Into eseca- A WARNING TO BOYS4 The small boy stole his Mtgnbtsrw grapes. His sin Did not Impress blm overmuofc, A grin O'erspread his freckled face Aa be Broke bunches off and gobbled them In glee. He ate. and ate, and ate, and ate. And ate. And all the time this wicked boy Was great. He did not think how wrong It was To swipe His neighbor's grapes before they were half ripe! But oh! before the clock struck twelve That night. That wicked boy waa pale as chalk With fright. He realised at last how very great A sin It is to steal, though it be but A pin. For awful gripes him stomach filled With woe. And he ejaculated: "Oh! Ohl Oh!" The moral is now heed it, boys! "Don't swipe Your neighbor's grapes at least until They're ripe." JEWS IN THE UNITED STATES. The American Jewish "Year Book" for 1899-1900, corresponding with the Hebrew year 5(60, which has just been issued by the Jewish Publication Soci ety of America, contains some interest ing figures relative to Jewish statistics in the United States. Mr. Cyrus Adler, the editor, makes this estimate of the Jewish population in the United States: "In 1818 Mordecal M. Noah estimated the Jewish population at 3,000. In lltl Isaac C. Harby placed the figures at 1,000, and in 1840 these were further Increased by the estimate published in "The American Almanac" to 15,000. In 1848 M. A. Berk placed the population at 50,000. In 1880 William B. Hacken burg put the figures at 230,257; In 1$ Isaac Markcns put them at 400,000 and in 1897 David Sulzberger estimated the total at 937,000." The following figures are then given: Jewish Immigration into the United States, 1885-1899: New York. 1886 18,535 1886 27,348 1887 25.718 1888 2.62 1889 22.874 1S90 32,321 1891 2.57 1892 52.134 1893 2578 1894 l.38l 1895 27.065 1898 23,802 1897 17,278 1898 22.921 To July, 1899...... 12,909 Phila delphia. 1.07$ 2.310 1.680 1,761 1.28 1.982 4.94 3.039 6,324 3.825 2,791 2,499 1,752 2.079 Balti more. 1.581 S.ltf 1.941 1.901 2.22 1.817 1.664 1.40 1.449 Totals 417,010 36,390 20.140 Imlmgratlon for 1881-4 74.SIJ New York, 1885-99 Philadelphia, 1885-99 JJ.JfJ Baltimore, 1886-99 -' Total M7.$a "If we add this Imlmgratlon to the estimate of Mr. Hackenburg made la 1880," says Mr. Adler, "we secure a to tal of 778,107, without making any al lowance for the natural increaae If twenty years, nor for the immigration through Canada and other porta of the United States than New York, Phila delphia and Baltimore." Prattle of the Youngsters. Sunday School Teacher Johnnie, who was Paul? Johnnie He's de feller wlW de funny bunch of whiskers dat'a t'rowln' a bluff at de English. "What's the matter, Willie you goln' round al Idoubled up like that?" "Oh, I ject eat a square meal an the corners hurt me." "Yea, ma, I ate the jam with exten uating circumstances." "What are the extenuating circumstances?" "You did n't catch me at It" "Can any of you tell ms the use ol the collar bone?" asked the teacher at the junior class In physiology. "It la used for the collar to rest on," prompt ly replied the small boy at the foot of the class. "No. Tommy," said bis mother, "one piece of pie Is enough for you." "Well, I can't understand it," responded Tom my. "You said the other day that X should learn to eat properly and new you won't give me a chance to prac tice." "Mamma," said small Johnny, "1 thought you said Mr. Jones waa a very wise man.' '"Yes, and so he Is," replied the mother. "Well. I don't think so,' said Johnny, " 'cause when I told I waa In school be wanted me to tell him how much two times three was." Soma Raoant Inventlone. To ad dto the comfort of bicycling a spring attachment has been patented, which la inserted In the rear forka with a central rod In each fork, engag ing the hub connection, the springe holding the rods down aad lessening the shock and Jar to the rider. Vegetables can be rapidly siloed aa mashed In a newly designed oattea, having a hopper resting ever a set of knives carried by a base, with a layer mounted on one side of the baas, ta depress a plunger In the hopper aad force the vegetables between tae cut (era In a newly patented system of gear ing for chalnleaa bicycles the oraak shaft carries a plain gear wheel, which drives a smaller wheel, carried by a shaft below the crank hanger, a pair af short cranks being mounted on the aefrf ond abaft to drive roda oeaneotlng wtta cranks on the rear hub. For use In cold weather whea tae hands get numb a new driving mitten, baa a metal bar pivoted In the palm, with a slotted guide covering the loose end of the bar to draw It clsee ta tai palm whea pushed toward tko ingarg, caustag It t trip taw rata with a , action aad allow taw tear to rai m time without any ism at their kola. As
